“It feels pretty good to break that Florida bubble,” said Kenney, who surpassed the million dollar mark in career FLW earnings after his victory. “I’ve won a few of these, but never one out of Florida. I’d been close quite a bit, and I knew that I was going to eventually win one away from Florida.

“The bite was pretty steady all day long,” Kenney continued. “I actually caught my biggest fish today about 30 minutes before I had to make the trip back. I knew that the winning fish were down at (Ticonderoga) and I really just had to figure them out. Yesterday, in some of my best areas there was a north wind blowing on the grass. Today it turned around and was blowing out of the south. I noticed it at my first spot. I knew that there were a lot of fish there, but I didn’t get a bite yesterday. I caught a few right away this morning, so I started running around to places where I knew there were fish but I couldn’t get to because of the wind. I looked for any good grass beds that had the wind blowing off of it instead of into it. I didn’t catch big ones at every spot, but that was definitely the pattern today.”

Kenney caught most of his fish this week on three main baits – a ghost shad-colored Gambler Big EZ swimbait, a chatterbait and a Gambler Ugly Otter. He also weighed in a few fish Saturday on a frog.

“When I was fishing the frog and flipping I was in about 2 feet of water,” Kenney said. “When I was fishing the Big EZ swimbaits I was catching them in 5 feet. I caught around 25 keepers today.

“When I first started fishing, I never would have believed that I would win a million dollars with a fishing rod in my hand,” Kenney went on to say. “I was just some kid from Maryland who loved to go fishing. Somewhere along the way someone suggested that we fish a tournament. Fifteen years later, here I am.”

ATHENS, Ala. – Richard Lee Allen scored his second divisional victory of the season by winning the Toyota Tundra Bassmaster Weekend Series, operated by American Bass Anglers, Maryland Division 21 tournament, held July 21, 2012, on the Potomac River.

Running out of Smallwood State Park landing near Marbury, the Westminster, Md., firefighter caught five bass weighing 18.18 pounds. Catching a total of 23 keepers, he capped his catch with a 5.77-pound bucketmouth to earn tournament big bass honors. For the Boater Division victory, Allen took home a check for $3,090 with an additional check for the lunker. He also pocketed significant bonuses from Mercury outboards and MotorGuide trolling motors.

Allen started the regular season the same way he ended it. On March 17, 2012, he won with five bass weighing 22.67 pounds. He also won the Boater Division big bass title in that spring tournament with a 7.37-pounder.

“I practiced for four days and caught more fish than I’d ever caught in my life,” Allen said of his July victory. “It’s a phenomenal fishery. Unfortunately, most were about a pound to 1.5 pounds. I also caught a bunch of snakeheads. In the tournament, I caught most of my fish on a black and blue chatterbait. It had to have a black blade. I had some good blow-ups on a black frog, but couldn’t stick any fish.”

In second for the boaters, John R. Sisson of Brookeville, Md., brought in a five-bass tournament limit for 18.12 pounds. He anchored his bag with a 4.08-pound kicker.

Allan J. Engelmeyer of Severn, Md., landed in third place among the boaters with five bass and 17.36 pounds, followed by Rick E. Anderson of Dover, Pa., with five bass at 16.90 pounds including a 5.13-pound kicker. Rounding out the top five boaters, Ricky T. Windsor of Huntingtown, Md., brought in five fish for a 16.63-pound tally.

In the Co-Angler Division, Tom L. Carpenter of Alexandria, Va., collected his first BWS check ever and went home $1,460 richer. He landed three bass for 12.37 pounds, a 4.12-pound average. He anchored his catch with a 4.84-pounder to up his average.

“I caught my fish working dark chatterbaits very slowly and keeping it in contact with the grass,” Carpenter said. “I caught a limit within 20 minutes, but later culled all of them. I caught all my weigh fish within 45 minutes of each other.”

Lamar Spade of Brodheadsville, Pa., placed second for the co-anglers with a three-bass division limit weighing 11.38 pounds. In third, Rob Morris of Middelburg, Va., brought in three bass going 10.71 pounds, but his 5.21-pounder took division lunker honors. Robert A. Wedding of Welcome, Md., landed in fourth place with three bass and 10.38 pounds, followed by Vic J. Gauzza of Fort Washington, Md., with three bass at 10.37 pound including a 5-pound kicker.

For more information on this tournament, call Gary Conner at (256) 230-5627 or ABA at (888) 203-6222. On line, see www.americanbassanglers.com.